Friday, March 16, 2012

P1 4G revise broadband plans with return of MiFi Hotspot

P1 4G today has made several revisions to its broadband offering for its Combo (OnePlan), Fixed (ForHome) and Outdoor (ToGo) plans. P1 was offering broadband plans without contract for quite some time now but with the recent change, all plans now come with either 12 or 24 months contract duration for fixed broadband and 6 months contract for outdoor. Subscribers that picked the 24 months option will get to enjoy additional savings off subscription fees.OnePlan (Fixed Broadband + Outdoor)
For the OnePlan that gives you 2 modems, now you get 3 options – OnePlan 99, OnePlan 129 & OnePlan 149 which offers 8GB, 20GB and 30GB respectively. Previously the type of modems are fixed according to plan type but now you have the flexibility to choose your home and outdoor modem. If you picked the DV-230 modem instead of the DX-230 modem, you’ll get RM5 off every month. For the outdoor modem, the standard skinny USB UT235 modem is offered for free but if you wish to upgrade, the “High Performance” Super WiGGY UH235 can be yours for an additional one time RM50.
New on P1 4G is the return of its MF-230 MiFi Hotspot device which was first introduced in 2010. The MiFi device lets you connect up to 5 WiFi devices with an estimated 4 hours of battery life. According to the site, the battery replacement for the MiFi is RM120 which could be an option to buy spares. For the OnePlan, upgrading to the MiFi device cost RM100 upfront during registration.
While OnePlan offers different speeds for its plans between 1Mbps to 4Mbps, all bundled outdoor modems download speeds are capped at 1Mbps. As comparison, the previous One Plan offered higher outdoor modem speeds up to 5Mbps on One Plan 129 & One Plan 169.ForHome (Fixed Broadband)
For those that only want a fixed broadband for home, there’s the ForHome 69, 99 & 129 plan options with 5GB, 15GB & 25GB quota respectively. Just like the OnePlan, you get to pick the modems and the older DV-230 gives you RM5 off every month. ToGo (Outdoor)
For outdoor usage, the new ToGo plans offer 3 options – ToGo 39, ToGo 69 & ToGo 99 with 2GB, 6GB and 10GB quota respectively. In terms of speed, ToGo 39 offers 2Mbps download while the other 2 offers uncapped speed, which gives you higher speeds depending on the network. Just like the OnePlan, you get to pick 3 modems – UT235, UH235 or the MiFi MF230 which comes with an upgrade cost of RM50-RM100 one time. For ToGo plans, there’s a 6 months contract period.
Overall the revamped plans are nothing more of a price, contract, speed & renaming exercise but it is good to see that P1 4G has finally brought back its MiFi offering after a long hiatus. The option of having flexibility to choose a modem is a good move especially for those that prefer better hardware but uses less data per month. However with the introduction of contract after offering contract-less plans might be a turn off for those that doesn’t want to be tied down. Terminating OnePlan & HomePlan during contract will incur a penalty of RM200 and ToGo plans charges a penalty of RM100.
For more information, head over to P1 4G.